Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) were introduced in 2009. They were created under the premise that this type of account would provide an incentive (no taxes) for Canadians to save money. They are a simple and very useful financial tool. TFSAs are an excellent way to save for virtually any goal; your emergency fund, a … Read More
If you’ve recently been widowed, make sure you take advantage of the tax-deferred rollover that allows your spouse’s RRSP to transfer into yours with no tax consequences and without needing additional contribution room. With the loss of your spouse/partner you may be concerned about having to save for retirement on your own. If you’re working, … Read More
It’s RRSP “season”, a term you’ll hear often in the first 60 days of any calendar year in Canada*. I’m sure you’ve seen many commercials on TV and online trying to convince you to set up or contribute to a registered retirement savings plan. As common as RRSPs are, I’m often asked basic questions about … Read More
2017 is now behind us and 2018 is a clean slate, waiting for us to fill in the blanks. You’ve probably already thought about New Year’s resolutions during the first week of January. If you felt any stress over money last year, you may be thinking about making some financial resolutions to prevent that from … Read More
If your spouse was the member of the household who handled all issues pertaining to car ownership, everything from purchasing decisions to scheduling and handling maintenance, taking over this job as a widow can seem daunting. I’ll give you some help with that today and in future posts. In fact, cars are an oft-neglected piece … Read More
As I’m writing this post, it’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. and tomorrow is “Black Friday”, the biggest single retail sales day in North America. Between now and the end of the year, it will be virtually impossible to avoid advertising designed to persuade us to buy “stuff” for both holiday gift giving and for … Read More
I don’t know a single person who delights in preparing their tax return. As a widow, filing your spouse/partner’s final tax return adds another layer of gloominess to the chore. And yet dealing with the tax returns of a deceased spouse is an unavoidable task every widow faces. Filing your spouse’s final taxes is definitely … Read More
A few months ago, I wrote about how common it is for widows to struggle with the reality of being on their own, financially and in most other aspects of their life. You, the surviving spouse have to re-establish life as an individual. This can feel overwhelming. Depending on how you and your partner handled … Read More
When your spouse/partner dies, what happens to any debt they had or that you shared jointly? Are you responsible for any money owed? What will happen to your credit rating? With household debt in the U.S. and Canada being at or near all-time highs, chances are the death of your spouse will bring questions about … Read More
There’s an old management dictum that says “You can’t manage what you don’t measure”. This holds true not only in business but also with personal money management. A common mistake is to only take stock of your situation when you’re already feeling financial stress. You can avoid a lot of worries by keeping track of … Read More
I’m a big fan of keeping your personal financial management system as simple as possible. As a widow, you will likely be closing down accounts that were in your spouse’s name and converting joint accounts to your name. It’s a good idea though to keep one joint account open until the entire estate has been … Read More
Warren Buffet has been quoted as saying, “Don’t save what’s left after spending; spend what is left after saving.” It’s all too easy to say you’ll start saving money after you get ahead on your bills. The problem with that approach is that day never seems to come. Money has a way of finding something … Read More
